Rachel WatkinsAssociate ProfessorDepartment of Anthropology

PhD, Anthropology, University of North Carolina, Chapel HillMAA, Applied Anthropology, University of Maryland, College ParkBA, Anthropology, Howard University

Bio

My research focuses on the biological and social history of African Americans living in the 19th and 20th century urban US. I began this journey studying the health consequences of poverty and inequality through skeletal and documentary data analysis, with a focus on the W. Montague Cobb skeletal collection.

This unique anatomical collection is made up of DC residents who died in the city between 1930 and 1969. There is extensive cultural information associated with the collection that makes it ideal for examining various biocultural interrelationships.

This research led to a broader interest in past and present studies of the human body as a ‘biological and social product’ within biological anthropology. As such, my current research and writing focuses on the use of African American skeletal remains and living bodies in the development of bioanthropological practices and racial formation.
My publications related to this work include:

2012 “Biohistorical Narratives of Racial Difference in the American Negro: Notes toward a Nuanced History of American Physical Anthropology,” Current Anthropology 53: S196-S209.

2015 “Repositioning the Cobb Human Archive: The Merger of a Skeletal Collection and its Texts” (first author, co-authored with J. Muller). American Journal of Human Biology 27: 41–50. doi: 10.1002/ajhb.22650.

I also authored and manage the W. Montague Cobb entry for Oxford Bibliography in Anthropology.

Although we know that race does not exist biologically, it continues to shape our understanding of human biological diversity - not to mention social organization, conflict and the distribution of resources and power. My research (and that of my bioanthropological colleagues) plays an important role in understanding the historical and current implications of biological constructions of race and how they continue to impact scientific practices.

I am committed to using my research and expertise to engage in interdisciplinary and public discussions about race, health disparities and science as a social practice. this includes speaking to elementary, middle and high school students, as well as other public speaking engagements. These efforts include co-chairing the American Anthropological Association's Anthropologists Go Back to School (AGBTS) initiative with Dr. Kamela Heyward Rotimi, and participating The Public Classroom @ Penn Museum: Science and Race: History, Use and Abuse http://dev.interactivemechanics.com./public_classroom/.

I teach Roots of Racism, Human Origins, courses on race, biology and culture, social theory and human biology.

I stand with students of American University in their battle against discrimination, racism, and violence against Black bodies, specifically Black femmes on our campus, throughout this country and this world.

Scholarly, Creative & Professional Activities

Research Interests

Keywords: African American biohistory and social history, skeletal biology, osteoarthritis, social and biological constructions of race, natural and social histories of disease, Washington, DC, health policy and health advocacyProjects:

The Role of African American Skeletal Remains in Constructing the Evolutionary Lineage of Race

Skeletal Indicators of Activity Stress and Social Inequality in the W. Montague Cobb Skeletal Collection

Professional Presentations

“’Poor’, ‘Marginal,’ ‘Urban’ and ‘Other’: The Racial Implications of Categorizing Human Skeletal Collections.” Presented at the American Anthropological Association annual meetings, November 2006.

Co Chair and Co-Organizer of the session, Revisiting the New York African Burial Ground Project: Noting Articulations with Research and Political Struggles in Washington, DC. American Anthropological Association annual meeting, November 2007 (Presidential session).

“What about the 'Bones in the Basement?': How the New York African Burial Ground Project Informs the Treatment and Analysis of Cadaver Populations.” Presented at the American Anthropological Association annual meetings, November 2007.

Invited lecture at the University of Pennsylvania Department of Archaeology and Anthropology Colloquium Series. April 2005. Lecture Title: “The Health Consequences of Containment: Life in the City, 1890-1950.”

Guest lecture, Archaeology and Politics (ANTH 531), Department of Anthropology, American University. January 2005. Lecture Title: “The Politics of the New York African Burial Ground.”

Invited lecture at the Washington Association of Professional Anthropologists meeting and colloquium December 2004. Lecture Title: “W. Montague Cobb: Washington Native and Scholar-activist.”

Invited keynote address at the Strengthening the Teaching of American History Conference, School of Education, American University. December 2004. Lecture Title: “The Role of Public Anthropology in American History Education.”